Perhaps no cricketer since Douglas Jardine has polarised opinion quite like Muttiah Muralitharan. For the believers, he's among the greatest to ever spin a ball. For the doubters, he's a charlatan undeserving of the game's greatest records, responsible for changes in the laws that they think have legitimised throwing. What was undeniable was his ability to turn the ball sharply on just about any surface, and bowl the sort of marathon spells that would have seen a lesser man retire after five seasons rather than 18. Whether Sri Lanka played at home, on pitches where he was often unplayable, or overseas, Murali was the go-to man for half a dozen captains. He seldom disappointed.

Scion of a family with confectionery interests in Kandy, he first came to prominence during a tour game against Australia in 1992-93, when no less a batsman than Allan Border failed to pick him. From the outset, his action was an object of wonder or ridicule, depending on which side of the fence you stood. A deformed elbow was only part of the story. Murali had exceptionally supple wrists and a shoulder that rotated as rapidly as a fast bowler's at the time of delivery. A combination of all these factors combined to enable him to turn the ball far more than most orthodox finger-spinners, but it was only with his mastering the doosra, the one that went the other way or held its line, that he became Shane Warne's rival in the wicket-taking and greatness stakes.

The controversies always kept him company, yet Murali seldom lost his wide-eyed smile, or the ability to run through batting sides. Darrell Hair called him for throwing on Boxing Day in 1995, and Ross Emerson followed suit three years later. In 2004, he was asked to refrain from bowling his doosra, after it was found to exceed the 15-degree tolerance limit that had been agreed on after extensive analysis of his and other actions. While the sceptics continued to denigrate his achievements, Murali even bowled on television in a special cast, going through his entire repertoire to try and convince the doubters.

Part of the World Cup-winning side in 1996, he was instrumental in the run to the final 11 years later, and he played his part in some of the country's greatest sporting moments. It was his 16 wickets that helped rout England at The Oval in 1998, back in the days when Sri Lanka were deemed worthy of only one Test. He averaged less than 30 with the ball in every country except India and Australia, and he finished a remarkable Test career with more than 100 wickets against India, England and South Africa.

Backed to the hilt by Arjuna Ranatunga, he blossomed in the late 1990s, and there was a period when the opposition routinely budgeted for 20 Murali wickets or more in a three-Test series. As the years passed, his shyness gave way to a quiet confidence and wry sense of humour, and he won admirers around the world for the energy, time and money that he invested in reconstruction after a tsunami had devastated the Sri Lankan coast in 2004. Often the only Tamil in the side in a time of ethnic conflict, he became as powerful a unifying force as any in the country. That he was such a hero with ball in hand was only part of the story.Dileep Premachandran

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Timeline

August 28, 1992 A fox is seen

At the age of 20, he makes his debut against Australia at the Khettarama Stadium, and takes 3 for 141. Craig McDermott is his first wicket.

August 28, 1993 First of many

Takes 5 for 104 in South Africa's first innings in Moratuwa, his first five-wicket haul in Tests. His wickets include Kepler Wessels, Hansie Cronje and Jonty Rhodes.

March 11-15, 1995 Match-winner at work

Takes 5 for 64 in the second innings against of the Napier Test, and spins Sri Lanka to a 241-run win. It is their first overseas victory, and they eventually win the two-Test series 1-0.

Playing his 22nd Test, is no-balled by Darrell Hair seven times for a suspect action on the second day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

January 5, 1996 Emerson joins Hair

Ross Emerson, umpiring his first match, no-balls him for a suspect action in an ODI against West Indies at Brisbane. Resorts to legspin; is still no-balled. The ICC investigates his action and clears him.

March 16, 1997 First centurion from Sri Lanka

Becomes the first Sri Lankan to reach 100 Test wickets, when he dismisses Stephen Fleming in the second innings of the Hamilton Test.

Takes 7 for 30 - then the best ODI figures - against India at Sharjah.

December 30, 2000 Second to Lillee

Takes his 300th Test wicket in his 58th Test when he dismisses Shaun Pollock in the first Test at Kingsmead. Only Dennis Lillee, 55 Tests, has reached the milestone faster.

January 4, 2002 Denied by Vaas

Takes nine Zimbabwe wickets on the first day of the Kandy Test, but misses out on the 10th when Chaminda Vaas dismisses Henry Olonga. Follows up his 9 for 51 in the first innings with 4 for 64 in the second. Equals Richard Hadlee's record of most 10 ten-wicket hauls in 15 fewer matches.

In his 72nd Test, becomes the fastest to reach the 400-wicket landmark when he bowls Henry Olonga in the third Test at Galle.

March 28, 2004 Action replay

Is once again reported for a suspect action by match-referee Chris Broad. Broad feels that the action with which Murali delivers the doosra during the Test series against Australia is not legitimate.

April, 2004 Doosra no more

Undergoes tests on his action at the University of Western Australia in Perth. The ICC effectively outlaws his doosra, confirming that they are not about to increase the permitted five-degree tolerance level for spin bowlers to accommodate him. Sri Lanka Cricket instructs Muralitharan to stop bowling the doosra in international cricket. The ICC supports the decision.

Goes past Courtney Walsh's record for the most Test wickets when he claims Mluleki Nkala as his 520th wicket in the Harare Test.

June 4, 2004 Not looking forward to Australian hospitality

Is named in the squad to tour Australia despite his saying there is a possibility he could opt out of the series. Two weeks later, pulls out of the two-Test tour of Australia citing "personal reasons".

February 4, 2006 Testing time

Undergoes another round of tests at the University of Western Australia in Perth to prove to the Australian crowds that his action is legitimate.

Takes the last wicket of the third Test against Bangladesh to reach the 700-wicket milestone in his 113th Test. The last 100 wickets have come in 12 Tests.

December 3, 2007 The cat-and-mouse game ends

It's a party in Kandy after the local boy becomes the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket, overtaking Shane Warne's record of 708 wickets. Muralitharan captured his 709th, that of Paul Collingwood in the first innings, in which he took six. He finished with nine in the Test.

January 24, 2009 500 and counting

The medium-pacers had left Pakistan in a shambles, and Muralitharan snaps up the final two wickets in Lahore to complete an embarrassment for the hosts, and also nails his 500th ODI wicket. Only Wasim Akram has achieved the mark before him, and Sohail Khan's wicket leaves him three away from becoming the leading wicket-taker in both forms of the game.

Sri Lanka's first Test victory in England comes solely due to an inspirational performance by Muralitharan. His 16 for 220 is the fifth-best analysis in Tests at the time; his 9 for 65 in England's second innings is seventh best on the all-time list. His seven wickets in the first innings, however, have cost him 155 out of a solid total of 445. But Sanath Jayasuriya's double and Aravinda de Silva's 152 give them a 146-run lead. Murali picks up two wickets before stumps on the fourth day, but a draw seemed the most realistic result. But "realistic" is what Murali isn't; on a wearing pitch, he casts a spell on the batsmen. England have no answer to his wiles, and one by one they succumb. Only Alec Stewart's run-out prevents Murali from picking up all 10 wickets in an innings. Sri Lanka are set 36 to win, and they knock them off in five overs in the last hour of the Test.

6 for 87 and 7 for 84 v South Africa, Galle, 2000

Sri Lanka pile up 522 to lay an ideal platform for Murali to unveil his new weapons against South Africa. He bamboozles the South Africans on a dry and cracked pitch with his big-spinning offbreak, the doosra and the top-spinner. He takes 6 for 87 as South Africa are bowled out for 238, and Daryl Cullinan, who scores a skilful 114, admits: "I could have been out three or four times. He's unique." South Africa are made to follow on, and Murali repeated his magic. He runs through the last seven wickets, and becomes the sixth bowler to dismiss all 11 batsmen over two innings of a Test.

4 for 77 and 6 for 71 v Pakistan, Peshawar, 1999-00

Pakistan are comfortably placed at 154 for 3, in response to Sri Lanka's 268 in the first innings. Enter Murali who triggers a collapse by dismissing Younis Khan. Pakistan go on to lose their last seven wickets for 45 runs, giving Sri Lanka a first-innings lead of 69. Chasing 294, Pakistan get off to a solid start with their openers adding 59, but Murali once again dismisses Shahid Afridi and Inzamam-ul-Haq in quick succession. Yousuf Youhana defies Sri Lanka with a gritty 88, but Murali dismisses him and Waqar Younis of consecutive balls to end the fourth day. On the final morning Sri Lanka need just nine balls to pick up the final two wickets; Murali dismisses the last man Arshad Khan to finish with 6 for 71 in the second innings.

With Sri Lanka defending 294, Sachin Tendulkar is the only man who stands between them and victory, and once Murali has him caught for 51, he knifes through the rest of the batting order. India collapse from 99 for 2 to 129 for 6, with Robin Singh becoming Murali's 200th ODI wicket. He takes 4 for 21 in his first spell of seven overs, and ends the resistance posed by Hemang Badani and Vijay Dahiya with a double-wicket maiden in his second. His 7 for 30 beats Aqib Javed's record for best bowling in an ODI.

5 for 9 v New Zealand in Sharjah, 2002

New Zealand have made a brisk start to their innings, reaching 83 for 2 in Murali-less 15 overs. He snares Stephen Fleming, Scott Styris and Chris Nevin in his first spell, giving away nothing. Matthew Sinclair and Chris Harris stage a recovery, but Murali dismisses both in consecutive overs during his second spell. He finishes with astonishing figures of 10-3-9-5, and it is only after they see his back that New Zealand recover to 218 for 8, a target that proves 11 runs too much for Sri Lanka.

4 for 54 and 6 for 81 v West Indies, Kandy, 2001-02

After both the sides fare equally miserably with the bat in their first innings, the second Test of the series is a one-innings showdown. Sri Lanka's batsmen recover from the dismal first innings to set West Indies a target of 378. Chaminda Vaas has torn a hamstring and cannot bowl, but that allows Murali to be introduced as early as the ninth over. The wily mix of offspin and doosras proves too much for West Indies as a string of batsmen are bowled, trapped lbw, or caught at the wicket. Murali needs only 16.2 overs to take 8 for 46, and bowls Sri Lanka to victory by 240 runs.

Murali's initial impact on the third Test, which Sri Lanka need to win to draw the series, is not with the ball. Sri Lanka have been reduced to 169 for 9 after winning the toss, but Murali strikes a feisty 33 off 29 balls to prop them to 231. A collective Sri Lankan bowling effort, in which Murali takes 3 for 62, bowls England out for 229 in the first innings. Sri Lanka bat solidly the second time around, and set England 322 to chase. Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss give England a strong chance of victory by adding 84 for the first wicket, but then Trescothick fails to read Murali's doosra and is bowled, beginning a passage of play when Murali takes 8 for 26 in 105 balls. Strauss is caught at slip, Pietersen at short-leg, and England begin to crumble swiftly. Murali picks up the first seven wickets before Chamara Kapugedera denies him a shot at all 10 by running out Matthew Hoggard. Murali adds one more to his tally, to finish with 8 for 70, and former England captain Nasser Hussain, now a television commentator, declares that "there is no shame in being bowled out by a genius".

3 for 41 v India, Trinidad, 2007

Although 3 for 41 are not the numbers that are associated with a great Murali spell, this spell against India in a crucial group match of the World Cup is mind-boggling to watch. The Sri Lankan fast bowlers begin their defence of 254 well by reducing India to 44 for 3, but Virender Sehwag threatens to stage a fightback. Murali takes center-stage, pitching his doosras outside leg stump, and audaciously trying to bowl them around their legs. The Indians play him nervously; Sehwag edges an offbreak to slip, and Dhoni walks after being hit on the pad by a top spinner, and the game is up.